In which I will be keeping track (for my own benefit) of my daily progress in the identification of the ant fauna of Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador, the analysis of that data, and the pursuit of my PhD. And (for the benefit of everyone else) I hope to provide helpful information on ants, taxonomy, database management, identification, and other assorted endeavors. Cheers

Monday, November 05, 2007

Some months ago, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City was granted official authority to award it own Ph.D. degrees. What this mean is that, starting in the Fall of 2008, a first generation of graduate students will be able to pursue a full state-of-the-art program in Comparative Biology at the best setting possible: an institution devoted to collection-based science.

The AMNH has already a long history in graduate level education through its join programs with Columbia University, NYU, CUNY and Cornell University. Many courses are already taught right in situ by the Museum's curators, and the students enjoy use of the various resources for their research (besides the collections, there are molecular laboratories, digital imaging with a SEM facility, and the fastest computer clusters for phylogenetic analysis ever assemble, just to name a few). However, further governing autonomy will surely create a more cohesive atmosphere and save a few headaches to its students. Nevertheless, as far as I know, the AMNH will keep its join programs with the universities.

This post was prompted by the launching of the new Ph.D. program website. The application deadline is December 28, 2007. I highly recommend anyone interested to contact some of the curators and apply for this or subsequent academic years.

1 comment:

I must say that I whole heartedly support the new Ph.D. program at the AMNH. As a Ph.D. student who has spent some time working on the collections at the AMNH, I can't imagine a better place to work towards a Ph.D. The collections are world-class and the academics responsible for them are of the very highest calibre. Furthermore, the atmosphere in the museum is a most inspiring one. It's the sort of place where you get a "buzz" everytime you walk through the door.